Shoulder pad



Oct. 16, 1951 5, A ET AL 2,571,890

SHOULDER PAD Filed June 22, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTORS SIMON KAGAN IR V/NG R0 THENBERG BY W I N ATTORNEY Oct. 16, 1951 s. KAGAN ET AL 2,571,890

SHOULDER PAD Filed June 22, 1946 2 SHEETS-S HEET 2 68 INVENTORS S/MON KAGAN BY lRV/NG ROTHENBERG Patented Oct. '16, 1951 SHOULDER PAD Simon Kagan and Irving Rothenberg,

New York, N. Y. 6

Application June 22, 1946, Serial No. 678,606 13 Claims.. (01.2-268) The present invention relates to shoulder pads conventionally used in dresses and suits to raise and form the shoulders thereof, and the method of manufacturing them.

Shoulder pads, heretofore used in the garment trades, are usually three cornered and comprise an upper and lower facing of suitable material, which are sewed together to form a casing or'envelope for the stiffening filler of cotton, wool or hair fibers which give body and weight to theshoulder pads. These shoulder pads are three cornered in shape and taper off uniformly from a relatively thicker portion at the longitudinal center of the pad to the sides of the pad and from the front of the pad to a point at the rear thereof.

Such conventional shoulder pads are illustrated and described in Pat. No. 2,389,934 granted to us and Samuel J. Gurewitz on November 27, 1945.

In such prior art shoulder pads, the weight of the filler was to a great extent uncomfortable for the wearer. to which the pad was attached oftentimes destroyed its shape by reason of the change in the filler undergone in the washing and cleaning operation.

As a result, very often shoulder pads were removed from the garment before it was washed or cleaned and thereafter resewed thereon, resulting in the use of an unclean shoulder Pad with a garment which had been cleaned. To overcome this disagreeable result, very often new' shoulder pads were used after the garment had been cleaned or washed, which was relatively costly and sometime diflicult of accomplishment in that the same size and shape of shoulder pad which had originally been sewed to the garment, could not be obtained.

Further, the prior art shoulder pads did not adjust themselves to the particular shape or size of the shoulders of the wearer of the garment because of the semi-stiffness or semi-rigidity of the padding or filler, which padding or filler also made the shoulders of the wearer relatively warm and uncomfortable.

These disadvantages are all overcome by the. shoulder pad construction now contemplated, which provides a shaped envelope, the upper and lower plies of which are separated from each other by an air space. The shoulder pads of the present invention therefore are relatively weightless and comfortable and cool, being air conditioned.

Further, by reason of the truss-like construction of the shoulder pad, the elimination of the relatively stiff and rigid padding or filler and the resilient free or non-rigid, though sufficiently stiifened against collapse, structure attained, the shoulder pad of the present invention, as distinguished from those heretofore made. is adjustable to all types and sizes of shoulders, whether narrow or broad, thin or stout or whatever the bone structure may be, without losing its shape to give to the garment wearer an ideal shoulder line. 6

In addition, by reason of the elimination of the filler or pad andsubstitution therefor of an air space alone, between suitably flexible and properly stiffened facings, the shoulder pad of the present invention retains its shape and size after a washing and cleaning operation thereby over- I coming any necessity for removing the pad prior Washing or cleaning the garment 6 to such operations.

These further and other objects and advantages of my invention will be clear from the description which follows and the drawings appended thereto in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoulder pad according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the lower ply being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank from which the upper ply is made.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which an element of the lower ply is made.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the stiffening member for the crown of the upper ply.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the shoulder pad according to the present invention at one step in the manufacture thereof, the envelope being turned inside out.

Fig. 8 is a section of a modification of a shoulder pad according to our invention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, a shoulder pad l0, according to ourinvention comprises the upper ply or facing 2, which is formed from the blank M (Fig. 4) and the lower ply or facing 16, which is preferably formed from the two elements 3 and 20, each formed from the similarly shaped blank 22 (Fi 5).

The elements l8 and 20 which comprise the lower ply l6 are sewn together at their inner edges 24 and 26 along the stitching 2B, which is positioned a relatively short distance inward of the said edges.

The edge 30 of the blank M from which the upper ply I2 is formed is then sewn to the edge 32 of the member l8,.and to the edge 34 of the member 20, along the line of stitching 36, which 3 line of stitching is positioned a relatively short distance inward of the said edges to form an open envelope from which the shoulder pad l will be formed.

Concurrently, the edge 38 of the stiffening member 40 (Fig. 6 and the purpose of which we shall further explain) is sewn to the edges 38, 32 and 34 so that the stifiening member 40 is disposed equally on each side of the crown 42 (see Fig. 2) of the shoulder pad extending from the inside end 44 of the shoulder pad to the outer end 36 thereof (see Fig. 1).

There is thus formed an open envelope illustrated in Fig. 7, which is inside out, the sewed edges being positioned on the outside of the,

partially sewn together shoulder pad. This partially sewn envelope is then pulled outside in so that the free edge 48 of the member lfl is.

positioned against the free edge 59 of the upper ply l2 and the free edge 52 of the member 20 is positioned against the free edge d of the upper ply l2, the upper and lower plies or facings being thereby aligned one above the other, with the pointed or trimmed end 56 of the blank 40 against and corresponding to the pointed end 46 of the shoulder pad. The free edges of the envelope 48 and 50 are sewn together, as by any suitable stitching 58, and the free edges 52 and 54 are sewn together as by any suitable stitching 69, which lines of stitching meet at outer end 46 of the shoulder pad to close the envelope and fix the end 56 of the stiffening member 40 in position. 7

While the shoulder pad H1 is provided at the outer end with a trimmed or tapered end 46, it will be understood of course that this specific shape may be changed, it desired, it being necessary only that the shoulder padbe thickest in cross section at the center thereof and tapering to the sides of the pad andthickest inlongitudinal section at one end 44 and tapering to a thinner end 16.

It will be further noted that, upon turning the open envelope illustrated in Fig. 7 outside in, a substantially vertical end wall 59 is formed from the members [8 and 20 which form the lower ply. The members [8 and 20 are of such size that when folded over to provide the hollow pad, the end wall 59 is formed of sufficient length to give the desired form and shapeto the resulting hollow shoulder pad. This end wall 59 adds to the stifiness or rigidity of the shoulder pad which also serves to prevent collapse of the upper ply I2 against the lower ply l6 under the usual stresses which may be. encountered in wear. The line of stitching and the edges of the members l8 and 20 further serve to add to the rigidity of this end wall 59 while permitting the sides 62 and 64 of the shoulder pad .10 to move toward and away from each other about this line of stitching, which as previously pointed out is positioned along the longitudinal center of the lower ply l6. 7 g

The hollow and shaped shoulder pad [0 is thus formed with the upper ply l2 spaced from the lower ply l6 and separated therefrom by the air space 60 (see Figs. 2 and 3). The outline of each cross section of the shoulder pad of our invention may be compared to the outline of a bow string truss, which is not provided with interior brace members, having preferably curvilinear upper and lower chord members which are unconnected except at their outer ends. I

In order to give the shoulder pad l 0 the proper flexibility and resilience so that the sides 62 the upper ply I2.

In order to stifien the shoulder pad [El so that it will not ordinarily bend longitudinally from the end M to the end 46, we provide the rigid longitudinally or endwise.

stifiening member 36 along the crown, at the center thereof, of the truss arc member formed by the upper ply l2. Thus a shoulder pad is formed which is resilient sidewise but stiff or Should the sides62 and (it be forced toward each other or pulled away from each other in the adjustment of the shoulder pad to different types of shoulders, upon wearing the garment to which it is attached, the lower ply it can move toward and away from the upper ply 12 along the center thereof (formed by the edges 24 and it and stitching 28) and vice versa, the curvilinear outer and inner arcs of the trus'slike structure separated by an air space permitting such movement and adjustment.

The edges 30 and 32 and 3 1 and stiifening' member'llll' at the same time prevent collapse or the hollow shoulder pad.

Refring now to Fig. '8, a hollow shiiulder pad 64 is'iormed iii the same manner as that just described eXce'pt that the lower ply '66 is made from a single blank similar in'shape and size to the blank Ill aiidal's'o cut on the bias.

Upon turning the open envelope "o'uts'ide in and sewing the nee edges together by the line of stitching 68, a hollow shoulder pad is formed of trusslike' crosssecuenwh'ien functions simi- 1am to the modification just illustrated and described.

It will now be apparent that we have provided a hollow shaped shoulder pad which the upper and lower plies are separated from each other by'an air jspace and which upper and lower plies are suitably stiffened and properly flexible and resilient to 'occa'si'oh' return of the pad to its normal shape should the pad for any reason, such as during washing or some force applied thereto, couapse." There is thus provided a shoulder pad 'i'nthe forni'fof an envelope and so a pad that'i's light weight, cool for wear, spontaneously self adjustable to the frame of the wearer oi'the g r-meant which the pad app ied and due" that is sanitar arid readily While we have described our invention indetail, the ii alfipls'are illustrative and are not iven as "limitations since other modifications within the spirit and scope ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled the art.

Hence, the invention is to be ur'ider'stood as limited only as indicated in the appended claims in which the intent is "to set forth all the novelty over the prior art.

Weclaim: I V

1 In a haped shoulder pad comprising a hollowenvelope and having a front wall, a curvilinear upper facing, a curvilinear lower facing and an ape at the rear of the pad, said front wall and lower racing formed from two elements connected retainer by a line of stitching extendirig' through the centers "of the front wall and lower facing from-the upper wallat '-the tram 'fof the pad to the upper wall -at the apex of the pad, said front wall and-lower wall being in- -te'g ral, the material forming the front wall and facings being cut on the "bias whereby the front wall is stifiened vertically and the enter and lower facings are flexibly resilient crosswise of the pad and 'stifiened in*a' longitudinal direction, said facings and said front wall separated from each other by anair space formed by the hollow envelope. 7 v

2. A shaped hollow, empty "shoulder p'ad'comprising ahollow envelope and having a curvilinear upper facing, a front wall and a curvilinear lower facing, the material forming-the wan and facings being outon the, bias "to stiffen 'theshoulder pad vertically at the "front wall and from front to rear of thepad "along thefa'cings and permit the shoulder pad to be resiliently flexed crosswise of the pad, said "front wall, lipper and lower facings being "separated by an "airspace and said shoulder pad tapering from the center of the's'houlder' pad*tothe sides thereof and from the front wall to the rear of the shoulder pad, said facings being joined at the *s'titchirig to the apex-at the rearof the padcentrally-cf the front wall and the lower facin'g of sides and the "reartr the shoulder pad'andbeing joined by the front wall at the front of the shoulder pad, said facings and front wall being resiliently returnable to original shape after collapse of the pad.

3. The shoulder pad of claim 2 and including a stiffening member on the upper facing inside the pad and extending from the front wall to the rear of the pad and disposed equally on each side of the longitudinal center of the pad.

4. A hollow shaped shoulder pad tapering from the front thereof to the rear thereof and from the center thereof to the sides thereof, said hollow shaped shoulder pad comprising an upper facing and a lower facing, said upper and lower facings being spaced from each other, said upper facing being joined to the lower facing at the sides and the rear of the shoulder pad, said low-,- er facing being joined to the upper facing at the front edges thereof and said lower facing extending down from and below the front edge of the upper facing to form an end wall of the shoulder pad, said pad being empty in the interior thereof between the front wall and the rear of the pad and between the sides of the pad, the material forming the upper facing and the lower facing being arranged on the bias in the shoulder pad whereby the shoulder pad is flexibly resilient.

5. The shoulder pad of claim 4 and including stiffening means for the upper facing and extending from the front of the shoulder pad to the rearthereof in the interior of the pad.

6. A hollow, shaped shoulder pad tapering from the front thereof to the rear thereof and from the center thereof to the sides thereof, a pair of three cornered facings comprising an upper and a lower facing, the said facings connected along the bases thereof, the lower facing extending down from the line of connection of the facings and folded over to form a front wall extending down from the upper facing with the remainder of said lower facing connected at the sides of the shoulder pad and at the apex of the facing to the upper facing, the lateral cross sections of said facings being convex, the material forming the facings being arranged on the bias in the shoulder pad whereby the pad is flexibly resilient crosswise thereof, and a strip ofstifl.- ening material connected inside the shoulder paid to the facings at the line of connection and at the apex.

7. a hollow shapedshoulder -pad, having "a front wall 'and an apexat the rear of i',he --p'ad-; =a first three cornered'fa'cing formed-from material cut on the bias and having-a substantially rectilinear edge and curvilinear edges joining the-sa id rectilinear edge; a second threecorne'red "facing form'ed from 'a-pair of blanks each cut on the bias, each bl'ank hav-in'g an outer curvilinear 'edgeyan inner curvilinear edge andan end cur'vilinear edge, said inner curvilinear edges be'ing joinedtog'e'ther'by a first-1me of stitching; the

eatsranaauy recmmear edge or the first facing being -joined-"by a-"second line of stitching to the edge 'of the 'second'facing formed by the end curvilinear edges of the blanks; the second'three cornered-facing extending down from the first facing to form a-front wall of the pad and'turned toward'the'apex at the rear of thepa'dtoforin a lower facing of the pad; a curvilinear edeem the first facing at the sides of thepadbe'in'g joined to {an outer curvilinear edge of a blank forming the second facing; said first "line 'of stitching extending down'from the firs't lineof the pad.

8. The shoulder pad of claim '7 and including a stiffening strip secured to the first facing on the inside of the pad along the front of the 'pad and to the rear of the pad.

9. The shoulder pad of claim 7, lateral cross sections of the shoulder pad having upper and lower convexedly curved arcs.

10. In a hollow shaped shoulder pad, a first three cornered facing having a front edge and outwardly curved edges connecting the front edge to an intersection of the outwardly curved edges, and a second facing having an outwardly curved base and second outwardly curved edges connecting the base to the intersection of the second outwardly curved edges, the first facing being connected to the second facing along the front edge of the first facing and the base of the second facing and at the outwardly curved edges and the intersection of the edges of the facings, the second facing being turned from the front of the shoulder pad to the rear thereof to Emma front wall of the pad extending down from the first facing and an under surface of the pad spaced from the first facing whereby the said pad is empty in the interior thereof between the front wall and the intersections of the outwardly curved edges of the first and second facings and between the edges of the shoulder pad formed by the outwardly curved edges of the facings, the said facings being connected together from the said front wall along the edges of the pad to the rear thereof and at the front wall, the facings being arranged on the bias in the pad whereby the first facing and the undersurface of the pad are longitudinally stiffened and the front wall vertically stiffened.

11. The shoulder pad of claim 10 and including a stiffening strip secured to the first facing on the inside of the pad along the front of the pad to the rear thereof.

12. The method of constructing a hollow, shaped shoulder pad, which comprises cutting on the bias a first facing to form a first front edge and first outwardly curved edges extending from the first front edge to a point of intersection of the first curved edges, cutting on the bias a second facing to form a second front edge and second curved edges extending from the second front edge to a point of intersection of the second curved edges, sewing the first and secondfacings together at the first and second front edges to form an open envelope, turning the formed open envelope inside out with the second facing depending from the first facing to form a front wall and turned away therefrom toward the point of intersection of the first curved edges and sewing the first facing to the second facing along the first and second curved edges to thereby form a closed air envelope.

13. A hollow shaped shoulder pad tapering from the front thereof into an apex at the rear thereof and laterally from the center thereof to, the sides thereof, a pair of three cornered facings forming the upper surface, lower surface and front of the pad, the said facings being connected along the edges thereof at the front and along the sides of the pad, the lower facing extending down from the line of connection of the two facings and turned inwardly toward the apex of the pad under the upper surface thereof to form a front surface extending down from the upper surface, and spaced therefrom an under surface, the lateral cross section of the pad being convex the material REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,329,496 Walcofi Sept. 14, 1943 2,395,024 Tang'orra Feb. 19, 1946 2,402,292 Nichols June 18, 1946 2,422,161 Zacks June 10, 1947 2,424,662 Lavin July 29, 1947 2,433,623 Perlmutter Dec. 30, 1947 2,440,121 Schwartz Apr. 20, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 664,436 Germany Aug. 26, 1938 

